Mothers' and fathers' socialization of preschoolers' physical risk taking [An article from: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology]

This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
This study examined how parents influence sex differences in young children's physical risk taking behaviors. Eighty three- and four-year old, mostly middle class and Caucasian children climbed across a five-foot high catwalk and walked across a three-foot high beam under their mother or father's supervision. Based on average preschooler gross motor capabilities, both of these activities posed potential threats to preschoolers' physical safety without proper parental monitoring. Analyses revealed that fathers of daughters monitored their children more closely than did fathers of sons. In contrast, mothers of daughters and mothers of sons monitored their children similarly. Differential treatment of preschool-aged girls and boys in risk taking situations is discussed as a contributor to sex differences found in children's physical risk taking and unintentional injuries.